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Back to the Boot Bench… Part 7

The final stage of the Boot Bench was to make the drawer which fits in the compartment at the top right of the case. The drawer is of quite ordinary construction – 1/2” stock dovetailed at the corners, with a 1/4 x 1/4” groove in the sides and front to capture the bottom. The bottom is 1/2” thick, tapering to 1/4” at the edges to fit into the groove, and is orientated with the grain running across the drawer so that any seasonal movement is pushed to the rear edge of the bottom.

Ploughing grooves for the bottom

As the front of the drawer will be painted to match the rest of the casework, I decided to use through-dovetails rather than half blind, as the end grain of the drawer sides won’t be that noticeable, and a simple square plug will fill the groove ends in the tails. Before dovetailing, I ploughed the groove in the sides and front using a Veritas small plough which I leave permanently set up for this operation.

The rear corners, showing how the bottom slides in from the back of the drawer

Although dovetailing is the same operation regardless of stock thickness, I definitely find that dovetailing 1/2” stock requires a lighter touch than the 3/4” to 1” range that represents the majority of my work. That lightness of touch involves both a slight change to the tools I reach for, and the way I use them. For the past two years my go-to dovetail saw has been the 14” Bayonet by Bad Axe, but while that is an excellent saw for my usual stock thicknesses, for 1/2” it is a mite too aggressive, so I prefer my 10” Doc Holliday saw (also by Bad Axe), which has a touch more control for thinner stock. I also swap out my usual 8” coping saw for a smaller piercing saw for hogging out the waste, as the finer blades allow me to creep right down to the baseline without fear of any blowout. I find that I also use lighter mallet blows when chiselling.

Sure, you could taper the edges with a jack plane, but when the panel raiser is this much fun, why would you?

The dovetails are orientated with the tails on the drawer sides and the pins on front and back, which minimises wracking when sliding the drawer in and out. The front had two tails, laid out so that the grooves land well within the tails. The back of the drawer is not as wide as the other components, as it terminates immediately above the groove, with two unequally sized tails capturing the back.

Raised panel and scalloped surface – a lovely contrast

Once the dovetails were glued up I sized the bottom so that it fit the available space. The interior surface of the bottom was planed smooth, but I left the scalloped texture from the scrub on the underside. The taper to fit the grooves was then cut with the Philly Planes panel raiser. A rough taper could be achieved with a jack plane, but the contrast of a sharp raised panel and scalloped surface was something I wanted to achieve, as a visual (and textural) treat for anyone who takes the drawer out in years to come. I used some hope made soft wax on the edges of the bottom to help ease them into the grooves, and then smoothed the exterior of the drawer with my No3. I also drove a short Roman Nail through small notch at the rear edge of the bottom into the back. The notch allows for seasonal movement in the bottom, while also holding it in place.

Drilling the mounting hole for the drawer pull – sacrifical stock prevents blowing out the interior of the drawer front

After testing the fit of the drawer in the compartment (relief, it had a snug fit and moved smoothly!) I drilled the mounting hole for the drawer pull. Clamping some sacrificial pine to the inside of the drawer from prevented the drill bit from blowing out the internal surface of the drawer front. I then pared two small plugs to fit the groove ends on the front, and glued them in place. Once the glue has cured I will flush them up and then paint the drawer front. After which, this project will well and truly be completed.

The completed drawer (upside down to show off that lovely texture). You can see the Roman Nail at the rear of the drawer bottom

2 thoughts on “Back to the Boot Bench… Part 7”

Awesome drawer and the textured underside is a suberb touch – very handmade.
On first glance that top photo looks like a 2″ stroke Doc Holliday..!
Congratulations on your significant milestone, please keep them coming : )
All the best,
Matthew

Thanks Matthew! Every project is a learning experience, and drawers are something I want to do more of as there’s lots to learn there. But I’m pretty pleased with how this one came out. Beauty shots of the completed project this weekend, then on to the next build!